Chapter 9 Inspiration

Surprisingly, Naruto was not late today.

Sasuke would be surprised if he cared about such things.

It wasn't until the first break when Kiba Inuzuka crossed the bench and sat on the table in front of Naruto that he realized something was wrong.

Before this, they had attended several classes in which the classroom atmosphere was unusually quiet.

"Hey man, what happened to your onesie?" Tooth asked.

Sasuke also turned his head at this time, trying his best to look nonchalant.

It actually took him a second to find Naruto because without his brightly colored flag-like outfit, Naruto looked so different.

Instead of that horrible orange jumpsuit he was wearing today, he was wearing a standard ninja outfit: black sweatpants and a high-necked, long-sleeved shirt.

The suit was at least two sizes too big for him, but before Sasuke could say anything, he noticed that the excess fabric had been neatly bound with black bandages around Naruto's elbows and wrists.

…and surprisingly practical.

Naruto made a sad and aggrieved expression to Kiba.

"It was too dirty and torn to be repaired, so I had to throw it away."

Ya looked at him sympathetically.

"What a shame. I've never seen you wear anything else. That dress must be your favorite, or you wouldn't have worn it for so long."

Naruto grinned, a hint of wryness in his tone as he ran his hands through his blond hair.

His hair looked even more dazzling against his black clothes.

"Yeah, of course. I kept it because Iruka-sensei made it for me, and I was kind of sad without it."

"But this outfit should make it easier to move." Shikamaru's lazy voice came from behind, his head resting on his arms. If Sasuke hadn't seen that his eyes were still open, he would have thought he was asleep.

"That's right," the last man answered, moving his arms as if to prove something. "I just hope I don't have to buy new clothes in the future, you know."

Shikamaru nodded, most of his face buried in his elbows so it was barely visible.

"I know you, bro. I hate shopping. It's such a hassle."

Did Iruka-sensei do that? Is that why he keeps wearing that stupid outfit? Sasuke thought.

However, when Sakura, Ino, or anyone else called his name, Sasuke immediately turned his attention back to the front of the classroom and continued to pretend to ignore Naruto's presence.

But this was different from usual, even though his eyes stayed on Iruka-sensei until the end of get out of class, he still felt a strange attraction from behind.

It's curiosity... and something else.

The feeling told him that something had changed, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

******************

After school, Naruto was in such a hurry to go to training that he almost forgot about something else that was almost as important.

eat.

"It's time for lunch, kid. You'll need to refuel before we start training."

Naruto was about to reach for the shopping bag on the dining table, but when he heard this, he stopped and whined.

"I had totally forgotten about it."

"I noticed that." Kyuubi drawled, mocking, "I'm going to teach you about chakra, so you need to keep your strength up. We can eat while you sort out your equipment."

The first time Naruto tried to cook rice, he accidentally burned it. The second time he made a mistake and it turned out to be rice pudding. It was not until the third attempt that he finally succeeded.

He had a decent lunch with some slightly charred salmon in miso soup.

He ate with one hand and with the other he took his gear out of the bag and put it on the table.

A brand new set of twelve jonin-level kunai, three packs of different types of shuriken, two bundles of senbon, a fuma shuriken, a steel dagger, twelve standard sealing scrolls, two large storage scrolls, fifty detonating talismans; fifteen detonating talismans, ten flash talismans, ten smoke bombs, twenty-five blank talismans; and twenty sealing scrolls, half of which are blank and half of which are sealed with barriers.

"Which one should I use?"

"Now we just need the enchantment seal scroll. Chew it well and don't choke."

Naruto had to force himself to chew slowly - he felt like he had swallowed a bolt of lightning.

He swallowed a mouthful of salmon and tapped the enchantment seal scroll with one finger.

"So this is what the seal looks like?"

“Very basic, yes.”

“How do they work?”

"Be patient, kid. You won't be able to do anything until you learn how to control your chakra properly."

Naruto tried hard to resist the urge to pout.

"Ok."

“It’s another lesson we’re all going to learn sooner or later.”

Naruto finished his meal and stuffed the sealing scroll into the bandage on his thigh.

"where are we going?"

What he got was not an answer but a feeling, a series of images, feelings and sounds.

The sun shines through the willow branches, the sound of the river lapping against the rocks, and the pain is mixed with comforting memories.

"understood."

He cleaned up the dishes, walked out of the apartment and headed east, his destination being the woods at the edge of the village.

He crossed a river at the outermost edge of the training ground and walked along its winding banks until the sound of the water grew louder.

The trees here became denser, with branches intertwined, making it almost impossible to walk.

He remembered running through the woods at full speed, branches catching on his clothes, his hair, his skin.

This time, he carefully avoided the branches and walked upstream.

He walked out of the woods and toward the rocks that jutted out from the center of the river, walking slowly so as not to lose his balance and fall into the river.

After a while, the clearing in front of him opened up and Naruto could see a magnificent waterfall at the end of the clearing.

In the sunlight, the clearing looked very different than it had at dusk—the leaves of the willow trees were now emerald green instead of gold, and the water of the pool shimmered like a mirror in the sun.

"Alright, kid. Set up the barrier seals along the perimeter, keeping them as evenly spaced as possible."

Naruto snorted and began to carry out his mission.

He failed several times, but Kyuubi was patient, and by the fourth time, he was finally satisfied with the position of the seal.

"finished."

"Very good. These barriers are not true protective barriers, but they should be able to hide the chakra you release and prevent others from noticing it. Sit down."

Naruto sat among the willow roots, nervous and excited. He had never been so eager to learn anything.

He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra, ancient and wild and familiar, coursing through him.